Impact
by northernexposure
Summary: Not sure if this should be SGA or SG-1. Set in Atlantis, but Sam/Jack. Season four. Disaster strikes Atlantis and Carter must rise to the command challenge - just as her old boss arrives for a visit.
1. Chapter 1

Impact

Author's note: Not entirely sure where to file this. Set in Atlantis, but dealing mainly with SG-1 characters… This is Sam/Jack, so if that offends you look away now. No hate mail please, it's just pointless fanfic...

xx

_In this City_

_Self-preservation is a full time occupation_

_I'm determined_

_To survive on this shore_

_You know I don't avert my eyes any more_

_In a man's world_

_I am a woman by birth_

_And after nineteen times around I have found_

_They will stop at nothing once they know what you are worth…_

…_talk to me now._

_Ani De Franco, _Talk to Me Now

xx

Sam Carter moved her potted plant to the left side of the desk and looked at it critically. Irritated with herself, she moved it back again, and tried shifting her in-box instead. It did no good. The space still looked cluttered, disorganised.

Hearing footsteps enter and pause, she glanced up. Colonel John Sheppard stood in her doorway. Behind him, the unusually peaceful control room of Atlantis buzzed and whirred quietly to itself as the crew went about their daily tasks.

"John," she nodded at him briefly, before turning her eyes back to the desk. "Anything I can do for you?"

"Not really," he said, watching as she pushed the in-box another inch to the right. "Just wanted to let you know that McKay's about to run a test on those pesky quarantine protocols. We don't want a repeat of last week's fiasco."

"Nope," Sam replied, attention still elsewhere as she shuffled some papers. "Definitely don't want that…"

There was another pause. She looked up again, catching the slightly perplexed look on Sheppard's face.

"Sorry," she said, with a sigh.

"If you don't mind my saying so, Colonel, you seem a little… nervous?"

"Nervous? What would I have to be nervous about?"

"Good question. I mean – you and General O'Neill go back a long way, right?"

She couldn't help but smile at that. "Oh yeah. Loooong way."

"As far as I can make out, he's just coming out on a routine trip. Y'know – visiting the front lines and all that."

Sam nodded, "Yes, I think that's the plan. He knows we've had a rough time of it lately and just wants to show his support. Bit of a morale boost from the top."

"Right. So..." Sheppard gestured to the desk, "Why the renovating? And Ronon told me he went to train early this morning and found you looking like you'd been there for hours. Says he never knew you had such a good right hook."

Sam sighed again, perching on the edge of the desk as Sheppard moved to sit down. She hadn't realised she was so transparent – especially to this new team, whom she still felt she barely knew. How could she possibly explain the complicated gamut of emotions she had run when it sank in that O'Neill was going to turn up here. In the Pegasus galaxy. In the City –_ her_ City. To visit _her _team.

"I don't know," said Sam, blowing out her cheeks with a frustrated breath. "It's so _weird_. I was fine up until this morning, and now – it's like I've got butterflies. Which is absurd, right? We served together for the best part of ten years. We know each other inside out. I should just be looking forward to seeing him, catching up. It's been months since we even _spoke_. But right now, I feel like some raw recruit about to get her first inspection." She looked at her desk again ruefully. "And to tell you the truth, I don't know if I'm going to pass muster."

Sheppard smiled. "Nah. That's not weird. I get it."

"Really?" Sam raised an eyebrow, dropping into her seat and leaning her elbows on the table.

"Sure. This is your first command. He's your former commander. It's bound to be a little odd."

Sam nodded doubtfully. "I guess…"

Sheppard stood. "Wait and see. Once he's been here five minutes, it'll be just like old times."

She watched him leave, his words ringing in her head. Just like old times? Sure. Old times. That would be a good thing. Of course it would. Right?

xx

O'Neill stood on the deck of the _Daedalus_ as the huge ship sank through the atmosphere toward Atlantis. The City loomed larger and larger in the viewscreen, and Jack threw a surreptitious glance towards Caldwell's command post. He wasn't sure he'd want the responsibility of landing this bird fair and square on the end of one of those pylons. Not that he_ couldn't_ do it. But one inch the wrong way and this monster could make one hell of a mess. It had been a while since O'Neill had needed to make a decision with consequences quite as immediate as that.

As they touched down, Jack pondered the turn that his life had taken. He'd never thought he'd be a General. He'd always assumed that if he couldn't be in the field, he'd retire and that was it. No pencil-pushing for him. No sitting at a desk with a window the only chance he got to see daylight during work hours.

But now, here we was with stars on his epaulettes, and happy with it. Sure, he still missed his active duty days – who wouldn't, who had seen what he'd seen, and knew what else was out there? But gradually, he'd come to appreciate the advantages that command from a distance provided. If he'd retired instead of taking the promotion, he wouldn't be here now, for example. He wouldn't even know what had happened to his old team, in fact. Which was the only reason he'd agreed to take the desk job in the first place. The thought of being cut off from them completely? No way that was going to happen. And even though now they'd all gone their separate ways, he knew what they were doing almost as soon as they knew themselves.

Well, mostly. Carter was more difficult to keep tabs on, being in a different galaxy and all. And so here he was.

Huh, this was one big damn City. Carter's City. Carter's Command…

"General? We're cleared to disembark, sir."

He nodded. "Lead the way."

"Yes, sir."

"So Caldwell," O'Neill began, as he followed the broad-shouldered officer towards the exit hatch, "you ever tried the fishing in these parts?"

"Uh – fishing, General?"

"Sure. Fishing. You know, a rod, a line, a hook…"

"I'm not much of a fisherman, sir, to tell the truth. Perhaps Colonel Carter will know more."

"I doubt it," O'Neill muttered, feeling a slight smile pull at his mouth. "Carter's not really into fishing either."

"Sir?"

He cleared his throat. "Never mind. Guess I'll just find out for myself."

It had been four months since he'd heard a peep from Sam Carter. Even back when she'd been on Earth, their communications had been infrequent. The odd email here and there, usually as part of a round-robin with Daniel and sometimes Teal'c too, if he was visiting the SGC. And then, it was never anything particularly personal. She'd missed the last ex-team meet up that Daniel had arranged, having been buried too deep in research at Area 51 to make it back to the Springs for old times' sake.

Old times. He couldn't really pinpoint what those 'old times' were. Sure, there was nostalgia, but any specific memories of Sam Carter were a complex mix of a tangled _something _he just wasn't willing to dissect. Let sleeping dogs lie, and all that. If anything had ever been going to happen between them, surely it would have done when he'd left Cheyenne Mountain. But nothing had happened, nothing had even been said, and eventually as the time lengthened he assumed she'd decided against whatever possibility she might once have entertained, and probably found someone else. Someone less craggy, less… old. Sometimes he'd wondered about Cam Mitchell, but mostly he just put the whole thing out of his mind. Or tried to.

Yet, here he was, about to step on to her turf, and he couldn't pretend that he felt nothing. He just… didn't know quite what he felt. Exactly.

And to be honest, it was best to keep everything on an even keel. Whenever he'd let that slip in the past, it had mostly caused them both a whole heap of trouble.

He stopped beside Caldwell and waited as the exit hatch was lowered, studiously thinking of nothing at all.

xx

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: I think this is going to be quite a slow burn…

xx

Sam stood beside her team, back straight as a ram-rod as the Daedalus' hatch opened slowly. She'd spent the last few hours trying to convince herself that there was absolutely nothing to be anxious about, without much success. Instead she'd changed tack and decided that the best thing to do was hide her nerves as much as possible and hope that Sheppard was right, that their old camaraderie would follow naturally.

_It's just O'Neill,_ she told herself for the umpteenth time. _What's to worry about?_

Boots clanged on the Daedalus' exit ramp, and Carter let go the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. And there he was. General Jack O'Neill, standing on the flight deck. Her flight deck.

"General on deck!" She heard herself snap out in her best command voice. Beside and behind her, the Earth military contingent of Atlantis' crew came to attention, their polished boots stamping on the blue metal to match their salute.

O'Neill walked towards them, and Sam found herself staring at a point just beyond his left shoulder, as if keeping his face out of focus would stop her stomach churning. But soon the moment was upon her – the two officers slowed to a halt, and with what she hoped was an inconspicuous deep breath, Carter moved her eyes to his face.

"General O'Neill, welcome back to Atlantis."

He was already smiling as he returned the salute. "Good to be back, Colonel Carter. At ease."

Sam couldn't help but return the smile as she dropped her arm. She'd forgotten how familiar his face was, even though the years had affected him. For a split second she was transported back to that first meeting, when she'd been spitting fire and he was as immovable as rock. His eyes were the same, his jaw was the same, that unbelievable inner strength that made Jack O'Neill who he was still absolutely evident.

And the butterflies fled. Just like that, they were gone, and she couldn't work out why they'd been there in the first place.

"You remember Colonel Sheppard?" she said, turning to John.

"I do. Good to see you again, Sheppard. I've been reading some of your mission reports. Some pretty impressive flying you've been doing out in these parts, huh?"

"I've been keeping my hand in, General," Sheppard nodded.

"…and Teyla Emmagan, Doctor Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Doctor Jennifer Keller…" Sam introduced them all in turn, taking extra time with Ronon and Keller. She was impressed to note that he had individual words for each one of them – and realised that the years had altered more than his face. Carter had never thought O'Neill would settle as a General, the post was so at odds with the field officer she'd served with for all those years. But here and now he seemed at peace, in a way he never had during those years in SG-1. She wondered briefly what had changed, but let the thought go almost immediately. It wasn't her business, and she didn't need to know.

xx

It had been late when he arrived, and the night shift had already taken over duties in the command centre. Carter had shown him around, briefly, though he mostly remembered it from his previous visits. The office had been different, of course – and the General couldn't help but think that it was quintessentially Sam. The desk was neat, precise. In fact, there were few non-essentials in the room apart from her potted plant – he remembered how she loved her plants – and a few photographs. Three of SG-1 and a picture of Jacob he'd never seen, alongside a woman he assumed to be her mother.

"You run a tight ship here, Carter."

She looked up from a sheet of paper on her desk – something that required her attention immediately – and smiled. He didn't look away as he may once have done. "Thank you, sir. It's very – different to anything I've done before."

"I bet. Still, hell of an experience."

"Yes sir. I wouldn't change it for the world."

He nodded, moving to one of the huge windows and looking out over the dark ocean. He let his mind wander for a few moments, thinking idly of old times as she scribbled a few notes.

"That's it, sir, I'm done," she announced a few minutes later, "I wouldn't usually send a team out over the nightshift, but Teyla had a lead on her people and Sheppard didn't want to wait until morning. Paperwork – the one thing I don't enjoy about command. I know now why you went to such lengths to avoid it!"

He turned to look at her. Carter's face was bright under the City's efficient lighting, and he realised how he'd missed it. Of course he had pictures – similar to hers, arranged in his office in much the same way. And elsewhere, though no one knew and he hadn't looked at them himself for some time, there were others. Images of her alone, or the two of them together, appropriated when he'd wanted something – anything – a tangible piece of her that he could touch with impunity.

She looked different to the Captain who had stalked into his life with such ready defiance that it had stopped his words immediately. Different, but still beautiful (and O'Neill was too old now not to admit that to himself, at least), though not in the same young, raw way she had been back then. The years showed: her face was softer and there were lines that creased it in ways he hadn't noticed before - but then how could there not be? With all that they'd gone through, all the battles that they had fought, together and apart? But she still had that firecracker smile, and her eyes were as bright as ever. Her cheekbones still looked sharp enough to carve stone.

It felt good that he could think these things without the guilt and fear such meanderings once caused. He was just glad to see her, an old friend with whom he shared so much history. He'd missed her, and wondered why they found it so difficult to keep in touch.

She cocked her head to one side. "Sir? Something wrong?"

He shook head with a smile. "Just thinking about old times, Carter."

She grinned, and he watched the lines on her face trace patterns on her fair skin. "There are a lot of them. Maybe we can relive a few over dinner? I've arranged for it to be served in my quarters, if that suits? The mess hall is a bit clinical and though there are state banqueting rooms, I thought that would be a bit ridiculous for just the two of us."

He nodded again, gesturing with one arm. "You know me, I'm never one to stand on ceremony. Lead on, Colonel."

Xx

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

xx

They had stayed up too late already, and Sam knew she would feel it in the morning. And yet, as they lounged on her sofa, finishing their beers, she didn't regret it. The only thing she regretted was not doing this sooner. The more they talked, and laughed, and reminisced, the more Sam realised how much she'd missed this: how much she'd missed him, and the team as a whole.

She finished her latest laugh with a sigh, and he raised his eyebrows. "Carter?"

"It's nothing really, sir." She looked up at his expectant face, and smiled. "I've just… missed this. I've missed you."

He glanced down at his bottle, thumbnail scrubbing at the stubborn label. He still hadn't managed to tame his restless fingers. "Yeah, likewise, Carter. Our team meet ups aren't the same without you." He looked up, eyes sparkling with humour. "But, you know, you're the one who decided to take a job in a different galaxy, for crying out loud."

"Oh come on. How could I turn this down? Anyway, I bet you thought about doing it yourself."

O'Neill shook his head, "Nah. My days on the front line are over. I'm looking forward to spending a bit of time here though – taking a look around."

She must have let the pause drag on a little too long, because he looked up at her.

"Carter?"

Sam shook her head with a self-conscious smile. "Sorry, sir. It'll be good to have you here. It's also a little… daunting."

"Daunting," he repeated, looking puzzled, "Why?

Taking a last swallow of her beer, she stood up. "Just hoping I won't let you down, General."

He followed her lead, standing up and depositing his empty bottle on her small coffee table. "There's about as much chance of that as the Goa'uld taking over the galaxy again, Carter."

"If you say so, sir."

They stood, a few feet apart. O'Neill stuck in his hands in his pockets, an old gesture that she recognised with a flash of affection. She smiled inwardly, a thousand fragmented memories of nights around campfires on alien planets playing in her mind. Saying goodnight then had always been bittersweet, for her at least. She never wanted to end those conversations, they'd always seemed so comfortable and at the same time so inexplicably illicit. The thought almost brought a laugh now – back then they'd never have dared eat dinner together alone anywhere but the mess hall. But this was good. This was friendly and _God_, how much easier would her life on SG-1 have been if this had been how it was back then?

When she glanced up again he was watching her, an open smile on his face, and her own widened. "I think it's time to call it a night, General. Thought you might like an aerial survey of the City tomorrow – and this time, I'm flying."

He shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Bet I still beat you to the gym."

"Since when did you ever beat me to the gym?"

"I was already long gone when you turned up, Carter," he said loftily, as the doors to her quarters slid open.

"Of course, sir. What was I thinking?"

He paused in the doorway. "It's good to see you, Carter."

The smile that had been just under the surface all evening broke out again. "You too, sir."

He nodded with a grin, before turning towards the quarters they'd assigned him, further down the hall.

xx

Something woke her in the night, a dull thud that shook the room and rattled the beer bottles she had not cleared away. Carter was already pulling on her uniform when the call came, requesting her presence in the control tower. She opened her door to see other personnel rushing in the same direction. O'Neill stood in his doorway, pulling on his jacket. He glanced at her, a question in his eyes. He spoke as she approached.

"Carter? What's going on?"

"No idea sir. Just on my way to find out."

"Something that can shake this place can't be good," he muttered, falling into step beside her.

Carter grimaced. A similar thought had already flashed through her mind. Her immediate fear had been a Wraith attack, but the City would have alerted them the moment a Hive came within range of the sensors. That couldn't be it.

The control tower was bustling with activity as they arrived, a stark contrast to the quiet of their last visit. McKay and Zelenka were bent over a diagnostic screen, arguing loudly as Carter approached with O'Neill. So intent were they, in fact, that neither scientist noticed the two officers approach.

"McKay?" Sam asked, loud enough to counteract the heated chatter. "What have you got?"

Rodney looked up with a jerk, and Carter noticed him fling a guarded glance towards O'Neill.

"We don't know," Mckay said reluctantly. "There's something off with one of the City's outlying wings."

"Something off?" O'Neill repeated, a flash of irritation in his voice, "care to elaborate, Doctor?"

"We don't know," McKay said again, matching the General's tone. Abruptly, he turned his back and returned his attention to the diagnostic screen.

"McKay," she warned.

"Look, if we knew, we'd say, okay? Just… give me a minute…."

He tapped on the datapadd he carried before thrusting it towards Zelenka and changing the diagnostic screen on a larger console. It zoomed in to an area of the City Sam didn't recognise, the detailed lines coalescing into chambers, rooms and corridors that hadn't been used for millennia. Something red was flashing – a breached perimeter showing on complicated map. Carter moved forward, pressing a finger to the pulsating colour.

"There's where the impact occurred."

"Where _what_ impact occurred?" O'Neill asked, looking over her shoulder with a frown.

She shook her head, looking at McKay, who clearly had no idea either, but wasn't going to say as much.

"Could it be a meteor?" she asked, as McKay continued to scroll through pages of sensor readings.

"I doubt it – it hasn't hit anything else." He squinted at something for a second before shaking his head. "It looks like it punched up into the City from the water, rather than impacting from above."

Zelenka, who had been working on a different screen, stood and moved to check on McKay's findings. After a moment he nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Could it be a whale?"

"A _whale_?" O'Neill repeated, mystified.

McKay let his irritation show again. "No, it could not be a whale," he scoffed, "in case you don't remember, that was on a different planet. Honestly, the things I have to work with here."

"Perhaps they are indigenous here too," Zelenka suggested, undeterred, "we have not had chance to examine much of the planet as yet."

"It's not a whale," McKay insisted.

"How do you know that? It could be. If it did not come from above, then-"

"_It's not a whale_," McKay almost shouted.

"Okay, okay," Sam said, raising her hands and stepping between them. "We get it. Not a whale. So what is it? The database listed no civilisation here."

"The sensors aren't telling us anything," said Rodney, still rattled. "We're going to have to go down there and take a look."

Sam glanced out into the still-dark night with a flash of unease. Whatever it was that had hit the City was sealed off for now – far better that a search team investigate once the sun was up. It would only mean few hours delay, and given the level of Atlantis' defences, that could do no harm. Looking up at an officer standing in the background, she raised her voice.

"Major Lorne. Recall Colonel Sheppard's team. He'll have to continue following the Athosian lead another time, I need him back here as soon as possible."

"Yes, Ma'am," Lorne said immediately.

"McKay, make sure someone monitors this screen at all times," she indicated the diagnostic. "The moment the stat changes, let me know. I'll be in my office."

McKay nodded, but Sam had already turned away to face O'Neiil. "General. I'm sorry, but I think we may have to postpone our airbourne tour…"

xx

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

xx

The day dawned as most other days did on Atlantis – bright, with a calm sky and calmer ocean. O'Neill's quarters had a large window that looked out over the City from about half way down the main tower. He stood, hands in the pockets of his BDUs (he'd be damned if he'd carry on wearing the uniform he arrived in), looking out over the precise angles and glinting windows of the Ancient's masterpiece.

He wondered if Carter was still where he'd left her, and thought it more than likely. She'd headed for her office after her initial consultation with McKay. Jack had stayed with her for a while as she'd gone over the early incident reports. Initially Carter had said she'd wait for Sheppard and the team to return so that she and Mcay could brief them before getting some more shut-eye, but as he'd suspected the hours had dragged on, the team had returned, the briefing had been completed, and yet it was clear that Carter had no intention of going back to her quarters. He wondered if she was trying to prove something to him, given her surprising comment earlier in the evening. In the end he'd decided that him hanging around wasn't going to encourage her to relax or take a break, so the best he could do was lead by example and leave her to it. But even as he'd done so – and suggested that she get some sleep herself - he'd known she wouldn't. She had that familiar glint in her eye, the one that meant she had her mind fixed on something and nothing was going to distract her.

Buttoning his shirt, Jack decided to head via the mess before going to the command center. Someone had probably already brought her coffee, but the fresher the better and anyway, he needed some himself.

As he walked the faintly echoing corridors, nodding here and there to passing Atlantis personnel, O'Neill pondered the previous evening. The time he'd spent with Carter had been easy, comfortable – far more so than he could remember in their years as part of SG-1. It was a good sign, he figured. Though he'd always known they'd be acquaintances for good - because to be otherwise would be impossible, given their team history - he'd not always been sure they'd be friends.

The atmosphere in the control room was tense but controlled. He glanced at the diagnostic he'd seen McKay and Carter looking at yesterday, but to his eyes nothing had changed. Across the short walkway to Carter's office he could see her in conference with Sheppard and McKay.

"General," Carter welcomed him as he entered.

"Colonel, Colonel, Doctor," he nodded to them all as he set the extra coffee mug he'd brought on Carter's desk. Jack saw a flicker of surprise on her face, and noted that McKay looked between the mug, Carter and himself. "Sorry, only had two hands," O'Neill shrugged, taking a sip of his own coffee before heading towards the nearest wall and leaning against it. "So, what's new?"

"Well there have been no more impacts and the perimeter breach appears to be stable," Sam said. "Colonel Sheppard is about to take a team down in a puddlejumper to work out what's going on. We'll monitor from here."

"We'll find out what we're dealing with first and then work out how to fix whatever damage has been caused," said Sheppard, "that's if anything needs fixing. Mainly I just want to know what's been punching holes in the City."

"Okay, Gentlemen, " said Sam, "time to get going."

xx

He'd never seen her pace before. On SG-1, Carter had always been the calm one, steady as a rock, working things through while he paced in the background.

But now, here in the Atlantis control room, she paced as she waited for news. He guessed it was one of the vagaries of command. Being forced to wait for word of people you had sent into the dangerous unknown.

"_The bulkheads in this section seem to have sealed themselves shut,"_ came Sheppard's voice over the comm system.

"Any indication as to why?" Carter asked, pausing as she spoke into the air.

"_No Colonel, not yet. We're cutting through now."_

"Be careful down there, Sheppard."

"_Were suited and booted in case of radiation," _John replied, _"We'll be fine."_

"_Speak for yourself!"_ came a crabby voice from the background that could only be Rodney McKay. _"My skin is very sensitive… these hazmat suits play havoc with my allergies…"_

"_We'll come back to you when we're through the bulkhead, Colonel,"_ Sheppard said, ignoring the doctor.

"Okay, John. Be safe. Carter out."

Major Lorne approached as Carter signed off, nodding respectfully to O'Neill before addressing her. Jack liked him – the officer had an air of the born military, but wasn't overbearing. He knew he was good at his job, and that was enough, it seemed.

"Colonel," said Lorne, "my team is standing by to give backup if required, as ordered. The rest of the research teams are on stand-by." Carter had cancelled all off-world missions until they knew what the situation was.

"Thank you, Major."

As Lorne took his leave, Carter crossed to where Zelenka was tinkering with yet another Ancient doohickey. Jack didn't know what it was and didn't need to know – he figured Carter would translate for him if it became important.

As she worked, O'Neill looked out over the balcony to the silent gate beyond. Atlantis was such a contrast to Stargate Command. The SGC was always dark, even when the lighting was at full power, but here in Atlantis everything was light and colour. Outside, the sun was shining brightly, and it scattered patterns though the slanted windows that made the control room look more like a conservatory than a place of military operations. But that was the Ancients all over, he mused. Powerful-assed aliens who preferred painting to war. Which was just as well, given the alternative – and they could see that all too clearly with the Ori situation.

"_Sheppard to Carter," _came the voice over the comm, and O'Neill turned to see Sam straighten up from the console she was leaning over. She threw a glance his way.

"Go ahead, Colonel. Sit rep?"

"_Well, we're through the bulkhead."_

"Good. Can you see what caused the impact?

"_Uh… yeah… you could say that." _There was a brief pause, _"McKay's just going to hook up the camera – stand by."_

"Understood." Carter turned to Zelenka, "Can you transfer the feed to the main screen?" She meant the largest monitor on the floor, Jack knew.

"Yes, Colonel… just give me a second…" Zelenka tapped a couple of keys on the console before him. "That should be it… receiving footage…"

Jack moved closer as the image flashed up on the screen. It was poor resolution, picked up by the little digital camera McKay had taken with them. But it let everyone in the control room see exactly what was going on.

The room was large, and mostly empty. Who knew what it had been used fro 10,000 years ago, but it obviously hadn't been a room of vital importance. The camera jiggled slightly as McKay moved uncertainly in his hazmat suit.

"What the hell is that?" O'Neill exclaimed.

As the camera angled down towards the floor, it was clear to see where the perimeter breach had occurred – a ragged hole, about five foot in diameter. Something had literally torn through the floor. As McKay zoomed in, the shaky image solidified to show water lapping far below – the room was now open to the ocean that Atlantis called home.

And then McKay turned the camera on what had caused the damage, lying beside the void. Jack swore.

"I hope to God that isn't what it looks like," he said, aloud. Carter did not reply but stared, silent and anxious, at the screen.

The object was roughly spherical, made up of what looked like hexagonal plates of beaten metal welded and riveted together. Set out in a regular pattern were small protrusions – sensors, perhaps. It was black, and menacing, and resembled something that Jack had seen many times before, in albeit smaller proportions.

"_You beat me to it, General,"_ came Sheppard's voice. _"I don't know about everyone else, but it sure looks like a mine to me. A really, really big one…"_

xx

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: Trying not to let this drag on, hence the regular updating... Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed :)

Xx

Sam's heart was thudding as she stared at the black mass on the screen. Her first instinct was to get her people out of there ASAP, but she knew she had to find out more.

"Is it active?" she asked, though she hoped the answer was already self-evident. If the firing mechanism on the mine had been armed, it should have detonated on impact instead of just punching a hole in the city.

"Doesn't look like it," said Sheppard, "but we're going to have to take a closer look." He paused for a moment. "Colonel, request permission to send non-essential members of my team back to the tower? I don't need everyone on this job."

Carter knew he was talking about Teyla. She'd sensed he'd wanted to leave her behind in the first place. But the young woman had so far refused to allow her pregnancy to curtail her active duties, and would have probably fought the decision had Sheppard voiced it.

"Affirmative, Colonel. Get everyone you can to a safe distance."

"Oh, and I just know what's coming next," came McKay's voice from behind the camera. "He's the scientist, he can stay in the danger zone. He's expendable…"

"McKay, you know you're the best person for this," Sam told him calmly. "I need to know how deadly this thing is, and how to disarm it. The quicker you figure that out, the quicker we can get you back up here."

"Yeah well, just make sure Keller is standing by. You know, just in case I have blast injuries."

Carter spoke to Sheppard for a few more minutes – it was decided to set the camera up where the control tower could monitor what was going on while the Colonel and McKay worked on the mine. Though McKay's comment about Keller had been a half-quip, Sam would none the less have the infirmary standing by. Although, and she shuddered to think of it, if that thing went off it was doubtful there would be anything Keller could do for them.

"What I want to know is, where in hell did this thing come from?" Sheppard asked.

"You and me both, John. Zelenka's trying to work that out right now. Until either of us have news, let's keep to a schedule of half-hour check ins. Synchronise your watch… now…"

"Done. Talk to you soon, Colonel. Sheppard out."

Carter took one last look at the scene being played out on the monitor before turning towards the scientist working furiously behind her.

"Doctor Zelenka? What have you got? I want to know where the mine came from and whether we're at risk from any more."

"Yes… If we can modify the direction of the City's long-range scanners, we should be able to get a good look right down to the ocean bed," said Zelenka, fiddling with the console in front of him. "But I have to be careful. If there are any more…"

"…we don't want a sensor sweep to set them off," Sam agreed.

"Quite. It requires some fine tuning."

"May I see?" She held out her hand for the datapadd.

"Of course. Here –"

Carter felt O'Neill at her shoulder as she scanned the readings. He'd been watching events unfold quietly, and she was grateful for his apparent decision to stay out of the way. She was also grateful that he was there, a sensation that surprised her. Not that it should, of course. They'd been through enough extreme situations together for his presence to be a comfort. But Sam had imagined that having him here in his capacity as General would make her anxious. It hadn't. Knowing he was there, that she could turn to him if she needed to, made the unknowns ahead seem almost bearable.

"Zelenka," she said, "I think if you dial down the output by .5 per cent, it'll stop the sensors emitting anything strong enough to trigger an explosion. And it'll still be strong enough to scan the ocean."

He took the padd back again and examined it for a moment before nodding. "I concur, Colonel. If we also add a dampening field at the source, that should stop any power spikes caused by the density of the water."

"Good point. Okay – you have a go, Doctor."

Zelenka nodded and turned back to the console. A few moments later he glanced up again, pushing his glasses up his nose yet again. "Right. Scanning…"

Sam glanced at O'Neill, and then gestured to another monitor nearby. "General," she said. "We can watch the sensor output from here."

They stood quietly, side by side, as the image began to develop. Lines denoted the peaks and troughs of the ocean floor, the occasional ripple between Atlantis and the settled sediment below showing nothing larger than a few fish. There was certainly no vessel hiding down there, nothing that could have shot at the City from the water.

O'Neill shifted slightly, taking a hand out of a pocket to point at the screen. "What's that?" he asked.

A thin, dark void had appeared on the screen, on the level of the ocean floor. It wasn't any sort of ship. Sam frowned.

"It looks like a crevice in the ocean floor. It must be deep, too, because the sensors can't penetrate it."

"I'm guessing what we're looking for came from down there," said O'Neill.

Sam nodded. She turned to Zelenka. "Dial it up, Doctor - .1 per cent at a time. Let's see what's down there."

Xx

O'Neill watched as the void filled with shifting patterns. It was clearly very deep, plunging hundreds of meters into the planet's mantel. Its sides were jagged and uneven.

"Nothing but rock so far," Carter muttered beside him.

Then, gradually, a plateau emerged. One end was narrow, but it widened with the cleft. And there, dotted across its surface, were numerous metallic spheres.

"Holy crap."

"Yeah. That's about the size of it," said Sam. "Well, I guess we found where they came from." Turning, she addressed Zelenka, "Can you find out how many there are?"

"Sheppard to Carter."

"Carter here. Go ahead."

"McKay's worked out how these things are activated, Colonel. It's covered in motion sensors. I guess it's supposed to sit still until a big enough target comes along and then wham!"

Sam frowned. "So, you and McKay aren't large enough to activate the sensors?"

"That's the theory. Seems to have been borne out so far. It's designed to be a ship killer, and a pretty big one at that. Rodney says it's old – like, millennia. Who knows what triggered it now."

Carter looked back at the sensor display, frowning again. "I think I have an idea, John. We've found more of these mines, down a very deep chasm beneath Atlantis. I think they've been there since they were first deployed – perhaps during part of some war that didn't make it into the Ancient's history books. The war ends, they're not retrieved and the planet is abandoned. Then one day along comes Atlantis, she floats over the top and triggers the sensors." She blew out a breath, rubbing a hand over tired eyes. "We're just lucky it's so old that the trigger mechanism isn't working."

"So what's the plan?"

"Well, we've got to get Atlantis away from the chasm. We don't want to trigger another mine."

There was a moment of silence from Sheppard, and then, "McKay wants to talk to you."

"Go ahead, Rodney."

"We've got to disarm this thing first. If we move the City while it's still in here, we risk setting it off."

"Understood. How far have you got with understanding it?"

"Have you got a few hours? This is unlike anything I've ever seen before, Sam. It's going to take a while, even for me."

O'Neill glanced at Carter, noticing the dark smudges that were developing beneath her eyes. She needed rest, but it was clear this was far from over.

"Okay. Keep us apprised, Rodney. Zelenka and I will work on keeping the City as still as possible. Let us know if you need anything. Carter out."

She looked at him, and he was unexpectedly moved by the anxiety in her features. His own stomach tightened – after all, if something was worrying Sam, then it had to be serious.

"It take it keeping the City still isn't as easy as it sounds?" He asked.

"Afraid not, General. Atlantis isn't anchored to the ocean bed – she floats freely. She's big enough not to move too much, as a rule, but the City still rises and falls with the tide. We have crew members monitoring where she moves, in case of underwater rock formations - but it's rare we come across a situation where Atlantis' movement is an issue."

"Until now."

Sam sighed. "Yeah. Until now."

O'Neill leaned in quietly. He didn't want to make Carter feel as if he was taking command, but he had a suggestion. "Carter? How about evacuating non-essentials toDaedalus? Caldwell can take her up, get them out of harm's way in case the worst happens."

Carter shook her head. "I'm afraid we can't do that, sir. The movement of the Daedalus taking off would definitely impact the City's movement."

"Damn it."

"We could use the puddlejumpers, though. They're small enough that their mass doesn't move Atlantis. I'll give the order to move and many as we can to the mainland."

Xx

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

xx

Hours later, Sam retreated to the quiet of the balcony beside her office. She needed a few minutes of the planet's cool air to clear her head. The evacuation had gone smoothly, and the city was now running on a skeleton crew. It should have calmed her nerves to know most of her people were out of reach of any potential blast, but it didn't. She felt the weight of responsibility pressing down upon her like a physical object. But that was command for you, she supposed. It was isolating, exhausting. There was no respite.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see O'Neill walking towards her. To someone who didn't know him well, he would have looked nonchalant, but she read the caution in the tip of his shoulders, in the fists balled within his pockets. Sam mustered a smile before looking out onto the ocean once more.

"Hey," he said softly. "What ya doing out here?"

Carter took a deep breath. "Sorry, General," she said. "Just needed some fresh air. I'll head back-"

He put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her as she was about to move away. Sam froze, shutting her eyes briefly. The weight of his touch was warm, reassuring. She hadn't felt it for years. She had never really felt it at all.

"You're not needed right now," O'Neill said, dropping his hand after a moment. "Take some time."

She nodded, leaning heavily on the balcony railing and shutting her eyes. He settled next to her.

"Tough break, Carter."

She laughed, "Yes sir. Trust me to have my biggest command crisis when my boss is here."

There was a pause, before he said, "You're handling this brilliantly, Colonel. And me being here right now – well, I guess I'd like to think that's a good thing."

Sam looked at him, taking a deep breath. "It is, sir. It feels…"

"…like old times?"

Carter laughed again, clasping her hands as she watched the splash of the water break against the edges of the City. "Yes, something like that."

"We always were one hell of a team, Carter."

"Yes, General, we were."

They lapsed into silence. Carter shut her eyes and lifted her head, feeling the sun warm her weary skin.

xx

Jack watched the light play across Carter's face. He could see the lines of worry etched on her forehead. The breeze shifted the wisps of hair that had fallen out of the tight plait she'd used to tie it back. He felt a pang, deep in his chest. He wanted to take this burden away from her, to right everything in her world. The emotion shocked him: he'd thought he was beyond all that. He'd spent so long during their years on SG-1 suppressing any such desire.

He still found her as impossible to read as he always had. She seemed to be split between being happy that he was there and worried about his assessment of her abilities. Which was ridiculous. He'd never doubted her – and the rare times that he had he'd lived to regret it. She was Carter. She made things right.

As for anything else – he couldn't tell, any more than he was able to way back then, whether she felt anything for him or not. And in any case, now was not the time to kick the sleeping dog. But still, he looked at her face, at her tense posture leaning against the rail, and wanted… wanted…

He sighed, shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"Sir?" Carter must have heard the exhalation, because when he looked up she was watching him.

He was still thinking of a reply when the second impact came, shaking the balcony and causing them both to stumble. Carter reached out, gripping his arm to steady herself. Their gazes met.

A second later, they were both running for the control room. Pandemonium greeted them. On the monitor, O'Neill could see McKay and Sheppard struggling to hold the mine steady. Then the little camera fell, and they disappeared from view amid the melee.

"Major Lorne," Carter shouted, "report!"

"It's got to be another mine, Colonel – we don't know where it hit yet."

"Zelenka?" she asked, "Did the City move?"

"I don't think so – it's as stable as –"

"McKay to Zelenka," came Rodney's voice, "What the hell are you trying to do, kill us all?"

"Rodney," Carter shouted again over the collective noise, "What's the status of the mine?"

"Well, we're still here, so what does that tell you?"

"No sign of it arming?"

There was a pause. "No."

O'Neill let out a sigh of relief and saw Carter do the same. She regrouped herself in a second, and called for calm. The crew, seeing their commander so collected, quieted themselves, looking at her expectantly.

"Okay," she said slowly. "Let's find out where this thing is, and quickly. Zelenka?"

The scientist nodded without speaking, squinting at the screen O'Neill had first seen the night before. A few minutes later, another patch of red began to flash. Jack moved forward, in step with Carter.

"Well, there it is, Colonel," said Zelenka. "It hit another one of Atlantis' wings."

Carter read the data scrolling up the screen. O'Neill watched her face, seeing the tension increase though her expression didn't change.

"Carter?" He asked.

She shook her head. "This one's worse, sir. At least with the first mine, if it exploded, the damage to the City's infrastructure would be reparable. But this one's right in the middle of a power intersection. If it blows…"

"Kaboom?" O'Neill guessed.

She nodded. "We'd lose our cloak, at the very least."

"Not good."

"No. Not good at all."

Major Lorne approached. "Standing by for orders, Colonel."

Carter straightened up. "Okay," she said. "Here's what we do. Zelenka, get on t re-routing as much power as you can away from that intersection. Shut down a section of the City if you need to: we have to be able to transfer it." The scientist gave a swift nod as Carter turned to Lorne. "Major, you and your men begin building an extra bulkhead. I want a new perimeter established. If that thing blows, it's going to let water in – and we need to be able to stop it."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Give me hourly sit reps on your progress. McKay," she raised her voice, speaking into the air," can you hear me?"

"I'm here, Sam."

Carter took a deep breath. "Alright. Stay where you are, keep working."

"But if the other mine is in a worse position-"

"I'm going to go down there. We'll work on them simultaneously. We can keep an open comm link." She took a deep breath. "With both of us on it, the solution should come more easily."

"Sam…"

"No arguments, McKay. I'll contact you again once I'm with the mine. Carter out." She signed off, turning towards him, and O'Neill knew what was coming. "General O'Neill. At this time I am turning command of Atlantis over to you."

"That's not going to happen, Carter."

"Sir. I have to go. I'm the only one with the right experience, besides McKay, and he can't move."

"I know that. But I'm not taking command. I'm coming with you."

"But sir-"

"No arguments, Carter. If you think I'm letting you go down there with that thing alone, you've got another thing coming. Lorne can handle things here."

She stared at him for a long moment, as if trying to read something in his eyes. He wondered what she saw there. Once, he might have worried about that, but not any more. The hell with it, he thought. Eventually, she nodded.

"All right, General," raising her voice, she recalled Lorne. "Major Lorne, return to control. Change of plan..."

xx

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

xx

Sam could see the damage that the mine had caused – or some of it at least – even before she'd manoeuvred the small ship into a landing position. The puddlejumper sailed over a section of Atlantis that had buckled under strain, the impact from below shattering the strength of the walls beneath and causing them to crumple.

Beside her, O'Neill was quiet, as he had been since voicing his decision to come with her. She'd been quiet herself, subdued not only by the weight of the task but by his presence in the jumper. When he'd made his statement she'd tried to read what he meant by it in his eyes, but was unable. Was he coming because he wanted to keep an eye on her, or for another reason? She couldn't work it out. He was a closed book to her. Sam had thought she knew him well, but now she realised that perhaps she didn't know him at all.

The thought twisted her gut unexpectedly, and Sam pushed it away. She had to concentrate now. Atlantis' survival – their survival – depended on it.

They landed, Sam finding the closest and most level place she could. The wind whipped around her face as she stepped out, carrying the tool kit. O'Neill had the Ancient equivalent of a hand-held GPS device to show them where to go. On its surface the red pulsated angrily. Getting into the area where the mine had come to rest wasn't easy – unlike the first strike, the bulkheads hadn't sealed, but only because the impact had crushed them. Carter clambered over metal debris, squeezed through corridors narrower than before and avoided severed power conduits as she negotiated their way to the point of the mine's ingress.

"I think this is it…" she said, over her shoulder. O'Neill didn't answer, too busy concentrating on keeping his balance on a see-saw of debris. But sure enough, there it was, another sphere of metal that looked even more sinister up close. Its sensors glinted like a spider's eyes, and Sam felt an irrational shiver run down her back.

Putting down the tool kit, she touched the transceiver in her ear – they couldn't be sure that the City's comm. system would work in the damaged area, and so she'd use good old human technology to talk to McKay.

"Carter to Sheppard. We're in position. Stand by while I survey the area."

"Standing by," came the response.

Together, Carter and O'Neill swept the area. It wasn't a safe place to be, by any stretch of the imagination. Sam watched the General's muscles bunching in his shoulders and knew that to say he was tense would be an understatement. Her stomach twisted again, caught between relief that he was there and a wish that he was somewhere – anywhere – else, instead of in the blast radius of a weapon not meant for them. She clamped down on that thought. Just get the job done, she told herself, that's why he's here, to make sure you do. He's not interested in what you're damn well feeling!

"Clear," she said a moment later.

"Clear," he echoed, dropping his weapon and turning to look at her. "What do you need from me?"

Sam dropped to her knees, searching for the mine's access panel McKay had described. She located it, a few inches off the floor. At least they wouldn't have to move the thing to reach it. She pulled her tool kit towards her as O'Neill crouched a few feet away.

"Can you hand me these as I ask for them?" She asked, indicating the kit.

"Sure thing, Carter. I think I can manage that." A small smile curved his mouth, and she returned it. Despite everything, he was still trying to keep her spirits up.

She lay on her back, face inches from the access panel, and took a deep breath before tapping the transceiver. "Okay, McKay," she said, 'I'm removing the access panel now…"

xx

"No… No... God damn it, that's not it either."

O'Neill watched Carter wipe the sweat from her brow and sigh in frustration. She'd been lying there for hours now, talking to McKay via the comm., and they didn't seem to have got anywhere at all. Reaching out, he tapped her knee.

"Hey. Time to take a break."

"Sir, I can't. We've got to-"

"Carter," he said softly, "That's an order. Take a break."

She glanced at him, and despite the long hair she looked more like the woman he'd known back on SG-1 than ever. Sam nodded reluctantly.

"McKay," she said, "Let's take a breather. Five minutes."

"Oh, thank god for that," Jack heard McKay mutter as he held out a hand to help Carter up. He passed her a bottle of water and she took it gratefully, drinking as she stretched her legs.

"I'm beginning to think that disarming these things is impossible," she muttered, one hand over her eyes.

"If there's one thing I know about you, Carter, it's that impossible isn't a word in your dictionary."

Carter dropped her hand, smiling at him wearily. The strain was plain to see in her eyes, and the dark smudges beneath her eyes had become deep rings of anxiety and exhaustion.

"This is just completely different to anything we've come across before, General." She shook her head, "we have no reference point. These things seem to employ multi-phasic technology to dissuade tampering. We can't even get at the controls, much less alter their firing orders."

"Can't just cut a fuse, huh?"

She shook her head, trying for another smile. "Not this time, sir."

Carter took one more breath before handing back the water bottle and dropping to her knees again, addressing McKay. "Okay, Rodney, let's get back to it. Maybe we need a new approach. Let's look at the power couplings."

"Okay. They should be visible through the access panel…" there was a pause. "Yeah. There they are."

"Yup, I've got them. Sir, can you pass me the 2-gauge screwdriver?" Her hand waved towards O'Neill and he handed her the tool. "Thanks. McKay, what I'm thinking is that if we can't get to the firing mechanism, perhaps we can at least disable it."

"That's not going to make this thing much safer, Sam. It's still one big sphere of volatile material."

"I know, but it should make things a little bit more predictable."

"Alright… I'm going to remove the outer casing and trace the wiring route."

"I'm right with you."

There were a couple of minutes of silent concentration as the two scientists worked. O'Neill was beginning to think that perhaps this was the answer Carter had been searching for when McKay's voice crackled out again, frantic.

"Sam!" he shouted, "Stop! Stop what you're doing!"

Carter froze, one hand gripping the screwdriver in mid air. "What? What is it?"

"This thing just armed – I don't know what-"

Carter was on her feet in a flash. "Get of there!" She shouted. McKay, get out!"

"There's no time!"

"The puddlejumper! Get to the puddlejumper – the shields will protect you from the blast! McKay?"

"Carter, let's go," Jack grabbed her arm. "I'm thinking chain reaction, here…"

They ran, scrambling over the debris that littered their only escape route. Behind him, he could hear Carter shouting.

"McKay? Can you hear me? Sheppard?"

O'Neill shoved at another sheet of metal, trying to make their exit wider, but even as he did so he knew there was no way they were going to make it out. He turned.

"Carter, we gotta take cover. Now."

She didn't hesitate, just nodded. He indicated the sheet of metal he'd been trying to move, wedged against a bulkhead to leave a triangle between the wall and the debris. Carter scrambled under it ahead of him and he followed her, dragging another piece of metal behind him to seal off a compartment as she did the same the other side.

They'd barely squeezed into the tiny space when the blast hit. The sound rocked them first, a dull roar that tore at his eardrums and rattled his teeth. Jack couldn't tell if both mines had blown or just one, and then there was no time left to think because in the next second the blast wave crushed into them, slamming him against Carter and them both against the wall. He reached out, trying to save her head from smashing against the floor on the rebound. The piece of debris he'd pulled in behind him flew away like flotsam on the tide, and he turned, just a fraction, to see something flying towards him.

And then, nothing.

xx

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

xx

Someone was shouting in her ear. Sam frowned, turning away from the source of the noise, and hit her head on something hard. She tried to open her eyes, but they were full of grit. She tried to sit up, but there didn't seem to be any space. Lifting a hand to her head, Sam wiped something sticky from her skin.

"_Sam!"_ came the voice again, _"Can you hear me? _Sam!"

Eyes still shut, she ran her fingers down to her ear, and found the transceiver.

"Here…" Sam began, but her voice failed. Clearing her throat she started again. "Carter here… Rodney, is that you?"

"_Oh, thank god. Sam, are you all right?"_

"I…" Her mind was spinning, fugged. "Give me a minute. Just… give me a minute…"

Taking a deep breath, she forced her eyes open. It didn't make much difference – she was entombed in darkness. Something rested heavily against her legs, making it impossible to move. She was pushed up against something equally hard. Sam tried to steady her breathing, forcing herself not to panic, and it all came flooding back.

Turning, she sought the darkness for O'Neill. He'd been there, he'd been right there – where was he? Stretching out one shaking hand, she felt the space beside her, but of him there was no sign.

"Carter to McKay."

"_McKay here. Are you all right?"_

"I'm alive. But I can't see the General. You? Sheppard? Did you-"

"_We made it to the jumper. We're fine."_

"Good… good."

"_Sam… the second mine. Is it still intact?"_

"I'm trapped, Rodney. I don't know. I'm going to try to move… standby."

She tried puling her legs from beneath the debris that pinned her there, but to no avail. Bracing herself against the wall behind her, Sam placed her palms flat against the sheet and pushed instead. She felt nothing, no movement at all.

Dropping her arms, she rested her head against the wall, spinning thoughts full of O'Neill. Where was he?

"General," she shouted, in as loud a voice as she could muster. "General O'Neill? Can you hear me?"

There was nothing but the distant fizz of broken power conduits and the creak of broken metal.

Channelling the sudden rush of despair, Sam pushed at the metal again. Her shoulder burned and she registered a possible fracture. But she had to get out of there, had to find out-

Then she felt it, the slightest movement, enough to give her hope. Forcing herself to keep going despite the roaring pain, Sam pushed, and pushed, until she saw the sheet of metal move, just an inch or two, to let in a smudge of tainted light. She kept pushing until she felt it reach the tipping point, and let go. It crashed to the floor before her. And she was free.

The scene that greeted her was one of desolation. The blast had ripped through the room, pulverising everything in its path. Twisted metal lay everywhere. Turning, she looked at the route they had been trying to take out of the room and found it entirely blocked. The narrow passage through which they'd entered had gone, buried in a hell of metal that looked like the crumple zone of a car after a head-on collision.

Light came only from shorting circuits, sparking weakly in the near-dark like thwarted fireworks. But in the gloom, she could make out the hulk of the second mine. By some miracle it was still intact, and Sam shuddered. Having now seen the devastation just one of these things caused, the thought of having them both blow was horrifying.

Sam searched for any sign of the General, calling his name as she held her right arm. She saw the heel of his boot first, buried not far from where she'd been trapped. Falling to her knees, she began to pull away the debris.

"General," she called breathlessly, "General O'Neill… General… _Jack!_ Can you hear me?"

There was a groan, and a hand appeared, reaching for her. She caught it, gripping it as if both their lives depended on it. A moment later he dashed away the metal that had covered him, rolling on to his back, one arm across his forehead.

"You know," he said, voice thick with dust and exertion, "when I get out of here, I'm going to have that miserable little runt for breakfast."

Sam laughed, relief flooding through her, making her light headed. "I'm not sure this was McKay's fault, sir."

O'Neill levered himself up, slowly. "Yeah, well. I say it is." He looked up at her, and his expression registered concern. "Holy crap, Carter. Are you all right?"

He reached out, touching her forehead, and for the first time Sam realised she must be bleeding.

"I'm fine," she said, and meant it. He was alive, and everything was fine.

xx

Atlantis sent a rescue team, but Sam didn't expect it to be able to reach them. She could see from where they were that the route was blocked. They were trapped, there was no doubt about it. McKay and Sheppard, having taking shelter in the puddlejumper, had returned to the tower. Carter was relieved: she could deal with being in jeopardy herself. Having others, others that she was responsible for, in danger was far worse.

She and O'Neill had assembled their surviving supplies and mounted an inventory to work out what they had. Her toolkit was intact, there were a few bottles of water and a flashlight. All in all, things could have been worse. They'd patched each other up as best they could – O'Neill had a suspected broken wrist – and Sam had done the only thing she could. She went back to work.

"_What I don't understand,"_ Sheppard said from the control room, _"is how a blast that size didn't set the second one off."_

"I don't know, John. Maybe it's already dead." Carter was lying on her back again, at the mine's access panel. "Sadly, we can't take that chance."

"Tinkering is what caused the first one to blow," said O'Neill, close beside her. "Surely there's some other way?"

She shook her head, holding out her hand for another screwdriver. "Not one that I have to hand, General."

"Well then, just… go easy on it, will ya?"

Sam couldn't help but smile. "Yes, sir," she said.

Jack sat, watching Carter work and wishing there was something he could do to help. She looked like hell, and yet he couldn't keep his eyes off her. They'd come through yet another life-threatening situation, together and whole. How many more chances would they get?

Periodically she held out a hand and muttered the name of an item in the box at his feet, and he'd pass them to her in such a way that their fingers would touch. Not much, not inappropriately. Just a touch. Sam didn't seem to notice, but that was no surprise. There she was, trying to save his world. Again. Her injured forehead was furrowed in concentration, her lips pursed. Blood stained the collar of her uniform and her hair. But she still looked perfect.

He rubbed a hand over his face. When had he become so sentimental?

O'Neill realised now that he wasn't over this thing with Carter, whatever it was. Not that he'd ever seriously considered that he _was_ over it. Like so many other things in his life that he found hard to deal with, he'd simply pushed it to one side and repressed the hell out of it until it became nothing but a dull lump, a silent addition to the whole trailer of baggage he dragged around after him.

But watching her now, he realised that this was one thing he didn't want to suppress. Not any more, anyway. A decade of hiding it and hiding from it was enough. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and other such clichés. If she wasn't interested, well, then they'd just go their separate ways and that would be that. They'd meet very occasionally at official functions and that would be it. Hey – she was in a different galaxy after all. It's not like he'd be risking bumping into her as he did his grocery shop.

Of course, now wasn't the time. And of course, it was entirely possible there would never be another time.

Sheppard's voice suddenly echoed out again. _"General… Colonel… I think you'd better brace yourselves."_

Carter sat up. "John? What is it?"

"_We've got another mine incoming…"_

"Oh crap. Carter, c'mere…" Jack grabbed her, pulling her away from the mine. There was nowhere to shelter this time, nothing to do but crouch beside the nearest intact wall, hands over their ears.

But the expected impact never came. _Ten seconds… twenty…_

"Sheppard?" Carter asked aloud.

"_All clear, Colonel. Damn, we were lucky that time. It missed the city by feet."_

O'Neill blew out a breath of relief as they stood up again, but Carter was shaking her head.

"This is crazy," she said, "we can't continue with this – we have to move the City. The longer we're over this crevice, the more chance there is of another hit. And one of these things is going to be functioning well enough to explode on impact."

"What's your plan, Carter?"

"I'm not getting anywhere with disarming the mine. We're going to have to move the City with it still here. It didn't explode with the other detonation, so there's a good chance, if we move Atlantis slowly and gently, that it'll be fine."

"Then what?"

"We drop it back into the ocean. It'll explode somewhere above the mantel. Atlantis will feel a bit of a kick, but she should be fine."

"Can't we just do that now?" He indicated the hole it had left on entry.

Carter shook her head. "If it explodes too close to the remaining mines…"

"Right… got it." He shrugged. "Well, Carter, you know me. I'm always up for a harebrained scheme. I say have at it."

She smiled, and it was like dawn breaking. "Yes, sir."

xx

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

xx

They secured the mine as best they could, wedging chunks of charred and twisted metal beneath it to act as chocks. Sam, McKay and Zelenka had spent precious minutes discussing just how slowly Atlantis would have to move to avoid triggering any further attacks from the deep. The answer was _extremely_ slowly – an inch at a time, if possible. The thought turned Carter's stomach. Every moment they hung over the crevice brought more risk, and every move Atlantis made could potentially trigger the mine she'd worked so hard to deactivate. Catch-22.

Carter was still concerned about what damage a wave impact could do when the mine finally exploded. Zelenka had come up with a forcefield that could be activated once they'd got it out of Atlantis. It would shield Atlantis from the full force of the blast, though Zelenka warned there would still be a considerable jolt.

Sam was tired. Bone, bone tired. Her head ached, her shoulder burned, and she was cold. But this was her City. She'd see this through if it were the last thing she ever did. And god knew it could well be.

"Right," She said, straightening up as O'Neill manoeuvred the last piece of support into position beneath the mine. "That's as good as it's going to get."

"Okay. Now what?"

"Now I give McKay the order to start moving the City… and we wait."

O'Neill nodded. His own exhaustion was evident, and Sam suspected he was nursing blast injuries that he hadn't confessed to her. His wrist was bound and strapped against his chest, though having one arm didn't seem to hamper him. But then, she supposed that was hardly a surprise. After all, Sam knew what other feats he'd had to accomplish whilst nursing worse.

"Ready, sir?" Sam asked.

"As I'll ever be, Colonel."

xx

Jack sunk down against the clearest wall he could find, facing the mine, as Carter gave the order to begin moving the City. This certainly hadn't been what he'd expected when he decided to come out to Atlantis for a visit. Here he was, facing what were very possibly his final minutes on Earth. Somehow, despite everything it seemed fitting. If this were to be his last adventure, at least he'd see it out with Carter. And maybe him being here would provide a means for her to escape, at least. If it did, then it was worth it.

His wrist throbbed, a dull ache underlying every movement. He'd had enough broken bones to relegate the pain to background discomfort, but still, it was there.

Carter signed off with the control tower and came to join him, dropping to the floor beside him. They were silent, each leaning back against the wall. There was nothing more either of them could do. He willed her to rest, to sit there with him and let someone else handle what needed to be done. She'd given the orders, suggested the course – now she had to trust her people to do their jobs.

He had no awareness of when the City began to move, little by little, towards safety. He was aware only of her, resting beside him inside their tiny metal world.

xx

Sam went over it again in her head. What could she have done differently? What should she be learning from this experience if she were to survive it? She sighed, pressing aching fingers to tired eyes. She'd lost count of how many 30 minute check-ins had passed since she'd given the order for McKay to start moving Atlantis. Too many, it seemed, and yet there were many more still to come.

Sheppard had told them that the rescue team were still persisting, led by Lorne. It was going to take a while for them to make their way to the two trapped officers, but with any luck, it would be before Atlantis reached its critical point. Carter wanted to be back in full control by then, if at all possible.

_Luck,_ she thought_, is that what I'm commanding by? It should be judgement…_

She sighed again, the self-doubt creeping in. The General heard her.

"Carter? What's up?"

She shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable, while aware that her biggest discomfort was within, rather than without.

"Carter?" He prompted.

"Sorry, sir. I just – I was just going over my actions since the mine hit. Trying to work out what I should have done differently. I should have moved the City right away, got it out of range of the crevice and the other mines. If I had we could have dropped the first one before it exploded."

"Carter, there's no point thinking like that." He turned towards her, face grave. "You did what you could. Now you move on. That's all you can do."

"I've got to learn from the experience, sir. If I hadn't-"

"Sure, you'll learn," he interrupted her. "But you're wrong if you think you made mistakes. From what I saw, you did just fine."

She laughed, a little more harshly than she intended. "Fine? This city had a hole blown in it on my watch… I don't think that qualifies as fine, General."

"Nothing you could have done about it, Carter."

"I could have swept the area. The ocean. I should have checked what was down there."

He shrugged. "Maybe you should have. But there's no guarantee you would have found the mines, even then."

"So I should just to chalk it up to experience, deal with the regret and move on?"

"Yup. That's how I did it, back at the SGC."

"Do you have regrets, sir?" She asked, a little surprised. "I mean, about the way you handled SG-1?"

He looked at her. "Sure, Carter. Every commander has regrets. Tons of 'em. That's just part of it."

She nodded. "I guess I have more of that to look forward to then."

He smiled at her then. "You'll do great, Carter. You_ are _doing great. I can't think of a better person to do this job."

"Thank you, sir."

O'Neill drew his knees up, resting his arms on them. He said nothing for a couple of minutes, and Sam could see the pensive look on his face. In that moment he looked so much more like the Colonel she'd known, way back when. Then he looked up, right into her eyes, and her heart tripped over itself. It was a sensation she hadn't felt for a long time, and it took her by surprise. She'd thought all that was in the past.

"I do have other… regrets," he said quietly, and despite herself her heart began to thud. "Sometimes, I wonder if it really would have been such a big deal."

"Sir?" she asked, not sure she understood.

He indicated between them with a grimace, an endearingly familiar indication of how uncomfortable he felt, even this many years later.

"As a General now, looking back…" He paused, shaking his head. "I wonder what it was all about. We beat the Goa'uld. We freed a galaxy from oppression. Would us being… " He stopped. "Would it really have ruined all that?"

Sam didn't know what to say. This was the closest, in over a decade, that they'd ever got to confronting this thing that had hung between them for so long. And suddenly she realised that it was still there, that it had never gone away. Perhaps not as overwhelming, but still solid, still immovable.

He obviously took her silence for discomfort, because he sighed and pinched his fingers at the bridge of his nose. He was about to offer a muttered apology when she cut him off.

"I know what you mean," she whispered, drawing his surprised eyes to her face. "Sometimes I wonder the same thing myself."

They looked at each other for a long moment, before Sam broke the tension with a smile, glancing down at her feet. A thought popped into her mind, and she felt her face flush suddenly. She almost blurted it out, but tamped down on the urge quickly. She was Colonel Carter now, just as he'd been Colonel O'Neill when all this started. She wasn't about to cross a line and threaten his confidence in her, even if he had started the conversation. But he'd been studying her - of course he had – and saw the play of emotions that went with the colour in her cheeks.

"What?" He asked, amused.

"Nothing, sir. It was – not appropriate. I'm sorry."

"Since when were we ever appropriate, Carter?" he asked, and although it was still touched with humour, the question was not completely devoid of bitterness.

She looked at him. "Always, sir. Isn't that the point?"

He raised an eyebrow, and then nodded. "Come on, Carter," he said, voice a little huskier than usual. "Out with it. I told you mine…"

She smiled, shaking her head. "It's stupid."

"I doubt it."

She shook her head again. She couldn't bear the thought of his shock, or even worse, his disdain.

"For the record, Carter," O'Neill said very softly, his intense eyes watching her still. "And in case you don't know it already… Nothing you could ever do, or say, or think… could make me think less of you. Nothing. Got it?"

She laughed a little. Of course he could read her mind, too. Or part of it, at least.

"Okay… Promise you won't laugh?"

He grinned. "Cross my heart."

Still she hesitated, and he leaned a little closer as a prompt.

"It's just…" she began, wishing she'd never started this train of thought. "I don't know… it's just…"

"It's just what, Sam?"

His use of her name floored her slightly. His eyes were warm, his smile genuine, and she felt a rush of affection for this stupid, screwed-up life they'd shared together. Because whatever else they'd been, they _had_ been together.

"Thinking about it now, it feels like we were married for years," she said, letting the words out in a rush before she had time to think again, "Without… without…" she tailed off, unable to continue.

"Without… any of the good stuff?" he supplied.

She smiled, self-conscious. "Yeah. Exactly."

He nodded, glaring at his feet. "I've known marriages that have been briefer, and less intense."

Silence descended, and into it Sam felt all her convictions tumbling away in a whirl of uncertainty. She'd been so sure that all this was done with, that she was past it. Not that she'd ever consciously told herself as much. She'd just… got on with it, like she had always done. He'd left the SGC and she'd missed him, but there had been so many other things to sink her attentions into. And eventually, missing him had stopped being the sharp physical pain it was at first. Then Atlantis had come along, and she'd taken it. But now, now that he was here -

"Penny for them, Carter?" His soft voice interrupted her reverie. She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. "Question is," he continued, after a moment. "If we were married then, what are we now? Divorced?"

She blinked dumbly, not daring to look at him. They'd gone through the first blush of attraction, the burning of desire, the fierce loyalty that came with being a team. They'd been joined at the hip, through force of circumstance as well as choice. And it had all solidified, finally, into the sort of security and familiarity that any married couple finally reaches once the fires of passion settle down. But they'd never given into that passion, and they hadn't parted badly. She didn't feel like it was time to end it, to cut him off, and judging by the way her emotions were cartwheeling, her desire for him was still there - a little dusty perhaps, but constant. And if it was still there, even now, after all these years and everything that had happened between and around them – what else could it mean but that it would always be this way? For her, at least.

Beside her, he moved, shifting closer until their arms touched. He turned towards her, but Sam still couldn't bring herself to look at him. She had no idea what was in his head, but he'd brought up the idea of separation. A final, complete separation. Had he got someone else? Oh God, was that why he was here? Did he feel the need to tell her about it, to break off this long dance they'd shared once and for all? If he was going to continue that train of thought then she didn't want to hear it. Let them just get through this and go back to what they had been – light years apart, with no need to say anything about it.

He leaned forward, trying to see her face. Her heart was beating so hard it was painful.

"Lotta water under the… City, huh Carter?" he whispered, and despite her anxiety, she laughed, shakily.

"Yes sir. Such a lot." Sam swallowed tears, determined not to let the pain of this show. _Just stop, she begged him silently, please just stop…_

"Sam-" he began, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted as the City gave a terrific jolt.

She scrambled to her feet, snapping into command mode. "McKay? What the hell was that?"

"_Another mine,"_ he shouted back, _"our movement activated it – it clipped us, exploded close enough to give us a kick."_

Carter moved towards the device, squatting heavily among its nest of debris. "Well, I think we were lucky that time. No change here, so I-"

But they hadn't been lucky at all.

"Carter?" O'Neill asked, at her elbow. She glanced up at him, and knew she must look frantic.

"it's armed," she said, "the mine's armed."

"What? How can you tell?"

"The sensor lights have switched from red to green." She turned, raising her voice, "McKay, we have a problem here."

"_Oh no. Don't tell me-"_

"How long have I got?"

"_Not long… 90 seconds? Two minutes at the most. Sam, you've got to get out of there."_

Sam ignored him, instead asking, "How close are we to the crevice?" As she spoke, she ran to the mine, beginning to drag the carefully arranged 'chocks' away. She indicated for O'Neill to do the same.

"_Pretty darn close!"_

"We don't have a choice. If it blows here, we lose power. Have Zelenka ready to stand by with the forceshield." She glanced up at O'Neill "Sir, we're going to have to push this thing –"

"I got it, Carter," he shouted, raising his voice as the mine began to emit a high-pitched whine, "Let's do this!"

Kicking the last debris out of the way they began to push the object towards the hole it had created. It was heavy, and as the whine became louder, Sam felt the adrenaline bleach from her body, replaced by an exhausted determination that cleared her head. With one last, magnificent effort, they tipped the mine on the lip of the hole. It teetered, and a fraction of a second stretched to eternity. Sam looked across to O'Neill, and for some reason the image of his face in that fraught moment was caught like a snapshot in her mind. And then it began to fall.

But something went wrong. As it dropped, the mine caught on to her boot, and suddenly she felt herself falling too, plunging like a stone towards the ocean beneath, crashing into the jagged sides of the torn hole as she headed towards oblivion.

The last thing she heard was O'Neill, screaming her name.

xx

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: You guys crack me up with your dislike of cliffhangers, lol. How do you cope with season finales? Thanks for everyone that's stuck with this. I really appreciate all your comments. EDIT Sorry, noticed several mistakes meaning that I had to repost twice. In my defense I am severely jetlagged...

xx

"CARTER!"

Jack watched in horror as Sam plummeted with the mine, disappearing from view in a split second. The bomb hit the water, and then she was gone, without a trace, without a sound.

His mind froze into a well of blankness, vision swallowed whole by the image of her falling into oblivion. And then he was moving, twisting his head to free his arm from its sling, dragging off his boots. He was poised to leap in after her when something crackled. It was Carter's transceiver. It must have fallen from her ear. Jack snatched it up.

"McKay?"

"General? Where's Sam?"

He looked at the hole. "She's gone. The mine dragged her down. I'm going to get her."

McKay swore. "The forceshield – we have to raise it."

"She's in the water, McKay! I've got to get her."

"There's no time! We have to raise..."

"McKay, you raise that shield and I swear I'll kill you with my bare hands! Got it?"

"You won't have time," McKay said bluntly, "we'll already be dead from the shockwave."

"60 seconds. Give me 60 seconds."

There was a fraction of dead air, and McKay said, "Go. Go, go go!"

O'Neill had already jumped before the scientist had finished speaking, plunging into water so frigid it stung. He'd been prepared for it but still, the temperature was so icy that it shocked him. His lungs convulsed and he nearly lost his air as his heart also faltered. But there was no time, no time at all, and he kicked immediately, willing his body to respond. All around him it was dark but he could just make out the bright flash of Carter's hair below him as the mine continued it's rapid descent, a brilliant smudge of blonde in the inky black. Jack fought his way downwards, trying to catch her, but it was falling so fast, so fast…

His heart stuttered with effort as he forced himself into a desperate fast plunge, his lungs burning. Carter wasn't moving, suspended instead like an angel under water, the caught leg outstretched where it was tethered to the mine, the other bent as if in mid-leap. Her arms floated upwards, trailing water like liquid flames, and he could see a decreasing stream of bubbles rising from her mouth.

Hold that breath, he ordered her silently, I'm coming for you, just hold that breath…

Jack willed time to stretch as he kicked again, finding some hidden reserve of strength where he had thought none remained. He caught up, reaching out to grab hold of the mine but losing his grip. His mind was full of curses as he tried again, this time finding something to latch onto. He pulled at Carter's leg, trying to free her boot, but nothing happened. Desperately he dragged at it, but it was no use. Looking up he saw her limp body giving out the last of its air, and even if he could free her from the mine, they had so far to get back... Jack grabbed at the knife strapped beneath his fatigues, an old habit he'd never managed to shake. The bowie felt heavy in his hand and he could feel himself beginning to drift – the mine was plummeting so far and so fast that the pressure would soon kill them both even if the lack of oxygen didn't. He jammed the knife beneath the laces of her boot and sawed at them. He'd probably cut her in the process but there was no time, no time…

And then with a jerk she was free, hanging motionless in an ocean of water. His stunned brain drank in the sight of her, and then he was swimming again, arms locked around her, pulling her up, up, up towards the too-distant hulk of Atlantis.

His lungs were almost empty and he didn't know how long it had been since he'd last seen a bubble rise from Sam. In his mind time had elongated, and he could not tell if it had been 30 seconds since he hit the water or 30 hours. He felt out of himself, watching events from a far, seeing himself with his arms around this woman as if observing from some secret hide in the depths of this deadly ocean.

But now he could see the hole, above them, just meters away. Hope flooded his heart and though he was almost numb with cold he kicked again, clasping Carter closer to his chest. He kicked, and kicked, and they were so close that he could see the jagged edges of the void, so close that if he reached out…

And then the mine exploded. He felt it rather than heard it, a deep blackness, a lack of anything, a pulling in of space, and time, and everything… It was like looking at the dark space behind an unknown door in an unknown house, that inexplicable and utterly tangible fear brought by nothingness…

In that infinitesimal space, Jack saw his death without looking upon its cause.

The shock wave hit him full in the back, shoving them both towards the hole and up though the tunnel of metal. Up, up, up on a rising tide of water that must surely drown them both, and then O'Neill saw the blue flash of a forcefield being raised. It emanated from behind them, from just behind them, and as the force of the water spat them into the air, he knew he'd made it.

He held on to Carter still as the water let them go, and they fell again, this time through air, hitting the deck with a resounding, bone-crunching clang. Jack felt the remaining air leave his body in a rush and he gasped to fill his lungs, his aching, burning lungs.

But there was no time to recover because Carter lay immobile, water crashing around her, and he hadn't gone through all of that to lose her now.

He crawled towards her, through the foot of water that had followed their escape. She was on her back, legs and arms akimbo, face blue with cold and oxygen deprivation.

"Carter," he whispered, no closer to recovery himself. He dragged her up, head cradled in the curve of his arm. Her eyes were half-closed, blue eyes drifting sightlessly. Jack tipped her chin up, sealed her nose with shaking, and covered his mouth with hers. Her lips were icy, and as he breathed into her he could feel hot tears burning beneath his eyelids.

He breathed into her again, and again, but there was nothing. There was no sign. Putting her down he pumped at her chest, willing her to breathe, to cough up the water that should not be inside her.

Nothing.

He heard a guttural sound and realised it had come from him. He would not let her go. He could not. Not now he had realised what he wanted, not now he knew that for all these years, it was what she had wanted too.

He picked her up again, tilting her chin back, pouring everything into this one last breath, giving her everything he had.

And this time, she took it.

With one mighty heave, Carter spat out the water she'd inhaled, coughing painfully as her body tried to replace it with oxygen.

"Carter… Carter…"

Her eyes rolled, seeing nothing, body too shocked to comprehend what it had been through, and survived. She was icy cold. Gasping with relief, he wanted to pull her close, to hold her, to warm her, but she was still breathing poorly. Looking around he saw a sheet of debris, uneven but out of the water. Scooping her up he carried her, knees buckling, towards it, putting her down as gently as his exhaustion and his broken bones would allow. He rolled her over, bending her leg into the recovery position. And then he lay behind her, as close as he could manage, and prayed for rescue.

xx

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11

Author's note: This was supposed to be the last chapter, but I'm so busy I don't have time to finish it properly, and didn't want to lose momentum by not posting something today. Hope you enjoy what's here anyway.

xx

A blur of noise took her by surprise. People were shouting, but not at her. _Around_ her, and from very far away. She could hear fragments of orders, and there was the sensation of uneven movement. But she couldn't see… she tried to open her eyes, but something held them shut. She tried to move, but something held her down.

"Don't move," she heard a voice say from somewhere above her, "Colonel, don't move…"

She tried to speak, but something was in her mouth, in her throat. She struggled to move.

"Carter…" Another voice came through the gloom towards her. "We've got you, Carter…"

She stopped struggling, fell back against something moving, against the sound of running feet. She was cold, so cold…

Another blackness swallowed her.

xx

The second time Sam woke, it was to the familiar bleeps of the infirmary, but her eyes were still held shut. She shifted, no longer strapped down, and there was a sudden movement beside her.

"Carter?" asked a voice softly. And then louder, "Doc? She's awake."

Soft footfalls came towards her, and she heard Doctor Keller's voice. "Colonel Carter? Can you hear me?"

When she spoke this time there was nothing to prevent her but the dryness of her throat. "Yes…" she whispered.

She thought she heard someone sigh close by her ear, an exhalation of relief.

"That's good. I'm going to take the tape off your eyes, but you're going to have to adjust to the light. Okay? You've been out for quite a while."

They had dimmed the lights, but sight was still difficult. Sam blinked rapidly, trying to make the shapes before her solidify into something recognisable.

"Take it slowly, Colonel," said the Doctor's voice again, "Your eyes just need time to adjust."

Carter nodded, and then said, "…water?"

Someone moved at her side, instantly, and she saw a dark shape recede and then return to hold a cup against her lips.

"Thank you…" she whispered, and fell asleep.

xx

The third time she woke, Sam saw O'Neill dozing in a chair beside her bed. She blinked, eyes finally adjusting to the low-level lighting, and watched him as he slept. His hand was strapped tight and slung around his neck, and she could see signs of bruises healing on his face. Her memory faltered – the last thing she could remember was that snapshot image of him as they pushed the mine towards the hole. A tremor of sudden fear gripped her and she looked around. But this was definitely the infirmary in Atlantis. So the City must be intact.

Sam looked back at the General. There were other memories, before the mine had armed, of a difficult conversation and her reaction to it. Her heart stuttered: he'd been about to tell her of someone he had back home, someone that wasn't her. Shutting her eyes, she pushed it all away, tired and frustrated that she would have to deal with this when it had been so far in the past. It must be almost time for him to return to Earth – his visit had only been scheduled for three days, after all. Then everything could go back to normal and she'd just have to deal with it again, move on.

Despite herself, she continued to watch him, etching the sight of his sleeping face into her mind. _It was never meant to be,_ she told herself, _maybe in another life – in so many other lives – but not here. That's just the way it is._

He blinked, suddenly, opening his eyes. She couldn't help but smile as scrubbed a hand through his hair, but tears touched her too, a bittersweet remembrance of things held so dear, things that had never really been and yet remained so potent.

Dropping his hand, his eyes found her, and he froze. He was out of his chair in an instant, dropping to her level beside the bed.

"Hey," he said softly, returning her smile. "There you are."

"Hi, sir." Her throat was still dry, but better.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, still with a tone she'd rarely, if ever, heard him use before.

"Okay. What happened? Is Atlantis okay? Did the mine-"

"Ssh," O'Neill said, taking her by surprise as he raised a hand and pushed a strand of hair back from her face. "There'll be time for that later. The city's fine."

Footsteps sounded, and Jennifer Keller entered the room, smiling as she saw Sam. "Hey! You're awake. Welcome back, Colonel."

"How long have I been out?"

"Five days, give or take. It was touch and go there, for a while."

"Five _days_? But…" Sam looked at O'Neill. "Sir, why are you still here? You should have been back on Earth by now."

He glanced down at his hands before standing up. "Just took a bit of extra time, Colonel. I'm going to go grab a coffee, let the Doc take a look at you. I'll be back."

Carter watched him leave, staring at the space he left in the empty doorway.

"He hasn't left that chair the whole time you've been here, you know," Keller said from behind her clipboard. "If I hadn't given him a bed to sleep in next door I think he would have slept on the floor."

Sam looked at the young woman, smiling slightly. "He's very protective of his team. "

Keller smiled back, but didn't offer another comment. Carter pushed her memory, trying to work out what she was missing. "Jennifer, I can't remember anything. What happened? Did the mine explode, or… or what?"

"You don't remember falling?"

"Falling? No, I –" she paused. "Wait. Yes. Yes, I remember – my boot caught on the mine. So… so I was in the water?"

"And then some, Colonel."

"Why don't I remember?"

"From what the General says, you got pretty bashed about on your way down. I think you probably hit your head and were unconscious before you hit the water." Keller leaned forward, straightening Carter's sheets, not meeting her gaze as she added, "He went in after you."

"General O'Neill?"

"Yeah. I've got no idea how he did it, considering how far that mine must have sunk in seconds. But he dragged you out. With the mine gone, we could beam you to sickbay. Which was lucky, because despite his efforts to get your heart going, you would have died of hypothermia within minutes if I hadn't got you back here."

Carter frowned. "Didn't the forcefield work?"

"It worked," Keller shrugged. "McKay said something about a death threat if he used it."

"A death threat?"

"From the General. He told McKay to give him exactly a minute, and then raise it. So if he hadn't pulled you out by then, he would have died with you."

Something in Keller's voice made Carter look up at her again. There was a glint in her eye, and Sam sighed inwardly, hoping she wasn't going to have to run the gauntlet of that kind of look from everyone in the City. Particularly not when the sentiment was so misplaced.

"Whatever you're thinking, you're wrong," she muttered. "He's just very protective…"

"… of his team. Got it." Keller grinned, giving Carter's pillow one last plump before heading for her office.

xx

To be continued…


	12. Chapter 12

Author's note: The end! This has been so much fun to write. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, it's been lovely to know I've provided a little bit of entertainment for peeps. Just a hint: for an inkling of where this story came from, make sure you watch the deleted scenes for 'Trio' if they're on the season four DVDs.

xx

It was a few days before Keller would let her out of the infirmary, though Sam had protested that she could recover just as well in her quarters as under Jennifer's care. Apparently the Doctor didn't trust her not to work, and if truth be told, she was probably right. In the event, the first place Carter went upon her discharge from Keller's care was to see how the repairs were going. It would be a long job, and Atlantis would forever bear the scars of her close call, but the repair teams were getting there.

Sam still found herself tiring easily, and Sheppard had taken over command of the City until she was well enough to return. Keller had said it would be at least two weeks, but Carter didn't see how she'd stand being inactive for so long. At least the doctor hadn't insisted she return to Earth, which meant Sam could keep abreast of what was going on by reading reports and attending team briefings.

O'Neill had returned to Earth before she'd been allowed out of the infirmary. He'd told her to look after herself, and not to return to full duty until she was ready. Sam had swallowed the fresh pain that his leaving had brought, and they'd embraced as any parting friends would. She tried not to think of the fact that he was leaving because he wanted to spend time with someone else, with someone back on Earth who had been waiting for him during the unscheduled extension to his stay. It had been kind of him to sacrifice his time to be at her side during the first days of her recovery, and of course she'd never be able to properly thank him for the personal risk he took to save her life.

He held her firmly, body warm against hers, and she felt his face against her neck. It reminded her of the other rare times they'd held each other, and she had to force herself to smile as they parted.

"I'll see you soon, Carter."

"Yes sir. You're always welcome here, you know that."

He smiled at her, a slightly lopsided grin with a look that seemed to be searching for the truth of her statement. She was so used to hiding things from him that guarding her look was second nature. Sam tried to let the barriers down, to let her heart into her eyes. She wasn't sure if he'd seen it, and anyway, it was irrelevant.

She felt bereft when he'd gone, and although the seat beside her bed was frequently occupied, it always seemed empty.

xx

Jack tapped his boot on the deck, hands in his pockets. Cooling his heels on the Midway station had not been part of the plan. He'd known about the quarantine procedure, of course, he just hadn't realised that spending a single day on the station would be… so darn _boring._ He wished he'd taken the _Daedalus_ after all. But of course, that would have taken so much longer, and you know, he'd been there, done that.

Plus, he didn't think he'd be able to wait that long. It had already taken him longer to get back than he'd expected – two weeks – and though he'd been getting reports of Carter's gradual return to health, it wasn't the same as seeing it for himself.

When he remembered those first few days, O'Neill couldn't help but shudder. She'd looked terrifyingly fragile, full of tubes and surrounded by machines. He'd known then that this was the end of the line for him. He hadn't wanted to leave, but there were things he had to sort out, things he had to arrange – if it were even possible. Jack didn't know what the outcome would be as far as Carter was concerned, but either way, he'd reached an impasse.

Now he just had to go through with it. He had to confront her about this thing once and for all. Despite the years that this had been brewing, he felt his heart change rhythm at the thought. But this time, no matter how awkward and painful it might be, he had to go through with it.

Jack tapped his boot on the deck, focussing on the staccato to ignore the tremor in his chest.

xx

Sam stared out at the water, watching the distant waves paint ripples on its surface. It was such a huge, unknown expanse. Who knew what else it hid beneath its glassy blue veneer? One of the first things she had decided to do when she was fit for full duty was instigate a full exploration of the ocean that had become their home. She'd already discussed it informally with McKay, sketching out search plans and timetables. It would take a while – it was so huge - but she sensed it would be worth it. And it may set her mind at rest.

The sun was strong today, the warmth suffusing her with a growing sense of wellbeing. She felt better than she had since the incident, and felt the strength returning to her body with every passing day. Carter was looking forward to the activity that getting back to her duties would bring. She had too much time to think right now. Too much time to ponder, and that wouldn't do her any good.

Down in the gateroom she heard the Stargate activate, and glanced at her watch. That must be Major Lorne's team, they were scheduled to return around this time, though they were a little early.

She let herself drift, leaning on the rail and listening to the surf far below. Relaxation was an unusual thing for her, but this balcony often made the worries of life in Pegasus recede to a background blur, as now.

Suddenly, there was a noise behind her, footsteps entering quickly and stopping short. She turned around, expecting to see Sheppard or McKay.

Instead, Jack O'Neill stood in the doorway. Her pleasure at seeing him was so instant that she couldn't stop a smile breaking out.

"General! Sir, this is a surprise…"

So was his attire. He was in civvies, dark blue jeans and a pale blue t-shirt, sunglasses sheltering his eyes from the sun. A few feet behind him on the floor was what seemed to be an overnight bag. Carter frowned, puzzled.

He walked towards her, smiling. "Carter. You look great."

"Thanks, sir. I'm doing much better. I'm hoping I can return to duty in the next week." She glanced him over again, "Sir, it's good to see you, but what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"Doesn't look like it." He leaned on he balcony, glancing at up at her, and then added by way of explanation, "I came to see how you were doing, Carter. And you look like you're doing great."

She was touched. He could have sent a message, or got hold of Keller's official report. But instead it looked as if he'd taken leave and made this trip specially. Which meant he must have spent a night at Midway.

"So you came via the station, huh?" she said, grimacing slightly as she leaned beside him.

"Yeah… someone should have warned me."

She grinned, and found him watching her with a smile of his own. "I was thinking more that we should have warned Bill. Sir,' she added.

"Ahh, he's okay. Well, he's alive, anyway."

Carter laughed, and it felt good. She realised that he'd accomplished in two minutes what Keller was still working on three weeks after the event. Just him being here was enough to lift her spirits, to make her feel… whole. The thought sobered her, and she stowed her laughter. There was no point going there, it would only cause her more pain when he left again.

"Penny for them, Carter?" he asked, and she felt a twinge of déjà vu as she shook her head.

"Is everything okay back home?" she asked, "I'm sorry you were delayed here so long."

He shrugged. "Everything's fine. Washington has plenty of Generals to run things – they don't need me."

"I didn't really mean…" she said, before trailing off. She didn't really want to know about his home life, and kicked herself for letting her train of thought come so close to the surface. But he'd noticed, of course he had.

"Didn't really mean what?"

"Nothing, sorry. So how long are you here for?" She looked at his clothing again, surprised by it.

"That depends on how long you can put up with me, Carter. I'm kind of on vacation."

"_Vacation_?" she repeated, mystified.

"Sure. I thought I'd see how the fishing is around here."

"And… and Washington and the IOA were okay with that, were they? You… taking a personal vacation in the Pegasus Galaxy? Through the Stargate?"

He removed his glasses and rubbed at them, smilingly an oddly inward smile. "Let's say I put forward a good argument. And I thought they owed me one."

She grinned. "Well, I guess that's true. You're welcome, of course." A sudden thought occurred to her, and her heart quailed in its wake. Oh god, he wouldn't, would he? Surely not, surely… She cleared her throat. "So should we... should we expect any more visitors during your stay, sir?"

He looked at her, and seemed genuinely perplexed. "No, Carter, just me. Who else did you have in mind? I suppose I could have contacted Daniel, and Teal'c – I didn't think about that, to be honest, I'm sorry."

"No, no – that wasn't what I was thinking, General." Screwing up her courage, she said, "I wondered if your partner would be joining you. Since this is a vacation. We can arrange for a larger apartment-"

"My partner?"

"Yes, sir. If she-"

"What partner?"

Sam felt the blood rushing to her face, "I'm sorry, Sir, I didn't mean to make things awkward, or pry. I just want you to be comfortable here, and enjoy your vacation. And I would have thought that having your… partner… here would be-"

"Carter, what on Earth are you talking about? I don't have a partner. What gave you the impression I did?"

"I…"

"Carter… why the _hell_ do you think I'm here? Really?"

"I don't…" she shook her head, unable to look at him.

"Oh, for crying out loud."

He glanced over his shoulder and reached out, pulling her into a corner of the balcony that could not be overseen. And then, as her heart thundered in her chest, he took her face in his hands.

"Swear to god, Sam, I'm too old for this shit," he said hoarsely. "I know now that I threw away ten years of chances to be with you. Ten years! And it's too long, it's too much. I miss you every day. I think about what could have been _every day_. If you've got someone else, if you think it's too late, then just tell me. But if you think there's a chance, I swear I'll move heaven and Earth to take it."

She felt her mouth drop open, her hands gripping his wrists as she tried to comprehend what he was saying. He looked as if he were holding his breath, eyes boring into her as if trying to see her deepest thoughts.

"Sam, I love you. I've _always_ loved you. And I don't care who knows it anymore. So just tell me, either way, and let this be the end of it. I can't-"

"Of course there's no one else," she blurted, through tears that had begin to fall. "It's always been you, Jack, no matter how hard I tried to get away from it. It's always been you."

He stared at her for a moment, a dark light sparking deep in his eyes. And then he pulled her closer, into his arms, and held her there. She clung to him, feeling his heart hammer next to hers, and Sam let the tears flow, winding her arms around his neck and holding him fiercely. They stayed like that for a long time. And then slowly, gently, he pulled back. Jack cupped her face again, stroking the tears away with his thumbs.

She smiled, her first genuine smile in days. "I love you. I always have. I just never-"

He stopped her mouth with a kiss, lips melting against hers with a force of passion she'd only ever dreamed about.

And it felt like coming home.

xx

Later, after he'd dropped his bag off in his assigned quarters, they took a walk, meandering along one of the City's seldom-used corridors. No one had batted an eyelid when they'd left the balcony together, and in fact he'd been pretty sure he'd seen a few crew members turn discreetly away as they passed. Not that they'd been doing anything inappropriate, of course, but as far as Jack was concerned it must be obvious to anyone looking that something momentous had happened between them. But maybe that was just him, and maybe that was the point. Maybe no one else in the whole damn universe gave a crap what two people did in their spare time. And maybe they never had. But he refused to dwell on the time they'd lost. He was too eager to contemplate the time they had ahead. Because he was going to take every second and make the most of it, however difficult it may be.

"Jack," she said, and _god_ how he loved to hear his name on her lips, "How is this going to work? I can't leave Atlantis. Not now. You know that, don't you?"

He slipped an arm around her shoulders, "Of course I know that. I would never even _think _about asking you to do that."

"It's not that you aren't as important-"

He stopped walking, turning her towards him. "Sam. I'm _not_ as important. I know that, and it's not an issue. I've never wanted to jeopardise your career, and I'm not going to start now. There are other ways. I'll just have to commute."

She laughed incredulously. "Commute?"

"We've got the Midway station. Sure, it means having to put up with Doctor Lee's yammering, but it's worth it. Anything's worth it. I'll come out as much and as often as I can. Every leave I can get, I'll be here." He paused. "If that's what you want?"

She gripped his shirt front, kissing him gently. It was amazing how easy that intimacy had become already. "Of course it's what I want. But that's a huge thing for you. And surely the IOA-"

"It's not a huge thing for me. To be with you – I'd do more. And there's no need to worry about the IOA. Like I say, Earth owed me a favour. This is it."

She smiled. "I guess so." She shook her head. "But this is only possible with the gatebridge. If anything were to happen to it… what then?"

"What could happen? It's a good piece of tech. Nothing's going to go wrong. And if it does," he shrugged, "we'll cross that… bridge… when we come to it. Either way I figure I'll be retired in a year," he flexed his healing arm, "I'm not getting any younger."

Sam nodded, and then sighed, a flash of sadness crossing her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling her closer.

"Nothing, really. This is wonderful. Completely wonderful. It's just, all those years…"

He shook his head. "Don't think about it. Just enjoy what we've got now."

She looked up at him, smiling that beautiful, brilliant smile, and he felt his heart constrict in gratitude for this second chance. And then he grinned as another thought crossed his mind.

"…and just _think_ of all that making up for lost time we've got to do..."

She laughed, slapping his arm in mock outrage before slipping her arm through his.

They walked on, slowly, into a future much brighter than before.

xENDx


End file.
